


Dark Roast My Heart

by cinelitchick



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bookstores, Flirting, Fluff and Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 04:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15964298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinelitchick/pseuds/cinelitchick
Summary: After a few days of standing in front of Hannibal's coffee shop, Will finally decides to enter. What happens next is a nice surprise for them both.





	Dark Roast My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a coffee shop or bookstore AU for a while now. I've also been wanting to write something for my fellow Fannibals, but I was never sure what. Finally, I hit on this. And while this is primarily a coffee shop AU, I was able to inject a bit of bookstore AU, too. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

He observed from behind the counter as the man with curly brown hair paused in front of the shop window for a moment before walking away; only for him to reappear a few seconds later. It was obvious the man was torn as to whether or not he should enter. Ultimately, he decided against it.

From the other side of the plate glass, the shop owner was disappointed. He had been watching this same man have an internal debate with himself regarding his store for the past few days. Perhaps one day he would finally pay his respects.

Hannibal Lecter turned his attention away from his store front and back to the paying customer who had stepped up to the counter. He filled the woman’s order efficiently and correctly; then finished the transaction as she paid with a debit card before going on her way.

Now he had a few moments to himself. The coffee shop was half full. Customers sat at various tables whiling away the hours with earbuds in and eyes glued to their screens. They were very good about ordering multiple cups of coffee and tea, second helpings of baked goods and copious bottles of water.

After ducking into his office in the back of the shop for a short period to handle some invoices he needed to complete, the bell above the front door tinkled. He quickly finished up the current invoice he was working on and headed out front. He froze when he saw who was waiting for him at the counter.

The man with the curly brown hair had decided to enter after all.

He flashed a smile at Hannibal, whose heart fluttered upon the sight. Hannibal returned the smile as he stepped up to the counter.

“Finally decided to take a chance,” Hannibal said.

The man was momentarily confused until he realized he had been spotted. “You saw me outside.” His cheeks flushed as his eyes widened.

Hannibal had thought he was attractive before, but now he was even more delicious. He had never thought of people as food, so this was an unexpected development. “I’ve seen you all week.”

The heat was now all over the man’s face and neck. He swallowed. “Shit.” He was embarrassed before, but there also was a nervous energy to him. Though he was flustered, he didn’t look away from Hannibal. He found it was the last thing he wanted. “I’ve been trying to cut back on caffeine, but I pass your shop on my way to the bookstore next door. It’s the only thing I can smell when I’m there. I find the intoxicating aroma has infested my sense of smell. It haunts me.”

Another smile; a bit manic but utterly charming.

“I’m flattered,” Hannibal said with the same smile still in place. “Have you completely relapsed or are you still on the precipice?”

The man chuckled. “A tall black dark roast.” His eyes slid over to the baked goods case on his right. “And throw in a scone and two black-and-white cookies, please.”

“This is on the house,” Hannibal told the man when he pulled out his wallet.

“Are you sure?” It was the man’s turn to be flattered, but he didn’t want to take advantage.

“I insist.”

“Thank you….” He realized he didn’t know the other man’s name.

A hand was extended. “Hannibal Lecter. I’m the proprietor.”

“Will Graham,” said the man as he shook it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Will.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Hannibal.”

They were still grasping hands. It never occurred to them to let go. Eventually, they released their grips. Hannibal went about making Will’s coffee and grabbing the baked goods he had selected. He put them in a bag and placed them next to the coffee in the paper to-go cup on the counter near the door.

“How late are you open?” Will asked as he retrieved his order.

“Eight o’clock.”

Will grinned. “Do you stay till the bitter end or do you have an employee lock up for you?”

Hannibal was intrigued. He very much liked where this line of questioning was going. “All me, I’m afraid. Although I do have some help.”

“Oh, I’m not afraid of you, Hannibal. I’ll stop by after I close up the store … if that’s alright?”

Now it was Hannibal’s turn to grin. “I’ll allow it.”

Will was amused and more than a bit turned on. He picked up his order. “I’ll see you tonight.”

As he watched Will leave, Hannibal had an undeniable sense of longing. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been attracted to anyone, let alone someone younger. Will had bewitched him body and soul after only a few minutes. He wondered what more the man could do once they had spent some real quality time together.

  


Will spent the rest of the day taking care of customers at his uncle’s bookstore and reading one of the five books in which he currently was invested. He checked his phone for the time more often than he ever had before. It was maddening how it would go so fast only to suddenly slow down to a crawl — two minutes forward, five minutes back.

He had agreed to watch over the store while his uncle was on vacation for two weeks. Uncle Jack couldn’t afford to close, but desperately needed a rest. Will was enjoying the break as he had opted to take the semester off after working the previous two summers. He was enjoying not having commitments other than to the store.

Jack Crawford wasn’t Will’s actual uncle. He only called him that because he knew how much it annoyed the shit out of him when it came from Will. To the neighborhood he was “Uncle Jack,” the man you could count on to have your back; to help you up when you needed it; to fight back the darkness when it came calling. Will thought it was inspiring how the people looked up to Jack. The man took the designation to heart. It was a point of pride for him.

Will had met Jack several years ago when Will wandered into the store one day because the Internet had told him it was the only bookstore on the isle of Manhattan to have the title he wanted. First impressions were not kind. As far as Will was concerned, Jack was a crotchety middle-aged man who used salt and vinegar when honey would do. Meanwhile, Jack thought Will was a pretentious academic who should care more about the world around him than the ones in the books he read. (Yes, Jack was well aware of the irony. He also would be the first to point out that it didn’t make it any less true.)

Despite their general dislike of each other, Will became Jack’s best customer. The ice eventually thawed between them. Over time, they came to think of each other as family. Considering Will wasn’t close to whatever remained of his biological kin, this was a surprising and welcome development. Jack had no surviving immediate family as his wife, Bella, had died the year before of Stage 4 lung cancer. He hadn’t been looking for company to keep, but Will was a good man who wasn’t afraid to use the brain God gave him. Jack couldn’t say that about most people.

Before the tutorial Jack had given him last week on how to keep the business operating in his absence, Will hadn’t been been to the store in months. He bought all of his books from Jack unless they were too obscure. However, he had opted to have them shipped to the college where he taught, instead of making the trek across the city every couple of weeks.

Will hadn’t been in the store long when the most intoxicating aroma had enveloped him like a lover. Instinctively he knew it was coffee, but it was like no coffee he had ever smelled.

“ _What is that?_ ” he had asked Jack.

“Amazing, isn’t? It’s coming from the coffee shop next door. Place opened a month ago, and I swear I die and go to heaven every morning I step foot in here,” Jack said with a dreamy smile. “You get used to it while you’re here, but the next day when you come back — _POW!_ ” He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand, then spread both hands apart. “Heaven.”

Will sighed. “I _would_ have to pick now to cut out caffeine.”

Jack roared with laughter. “Yeah, you’re _screwed_.”

Now Will took a sip from his once again steaming coffee. He had just reheated it in the microwave in the back. It tasted almost as good as it did a few hours ago when he finally relented and bought a cup. He also ate one of the black-and-white cookies, having devoured the blueberry scone when he first returned.

He thought about Hannibal, the coffee shop’s owner. His short, brown hair whose bangs fell softly just over his left eyebrow. His inquisitive brown eyes that felt to Will like they housed the infinite questions of the universe. The way his lips tugged as a smile broke free. Those cheekbones…. _Dear God_ , how he wanted to run his fingers over those majestically carved pieces of art.

The bell above of the front door tinkled. Will’s heart leapt into his throat at the mere possibility of the guest’s identity. Alas, it was not him. It was a couple, two men, who smiled and nodded at Will as they made their way past the counter and down one of the rows near the back of the store. There were only two genres in that part of the space: religion and self-help/sexuality. He had a feeling they weren’t going to come back with a book on God.

Sure enough, they plopped down a copy of a tantric sex guide for couples. Will rung up the sale and sincerely hoped they enjoyed themselves. After the men left, he meandered over to the sexuality section and pulled off the shelf a copy of a book instructing on all the sex positions gay men should know. He was due to close in a hour; though to be honest, he didn’t care if someone caught him reading it. _The more you know,_ Will thought.

The last hour flew by and soon after he was locking up the store, a copy of the book in his messenger bag alongside the novel he had brought with him. Outside, he took a deep breath. Shit. He was nervous. Nervous and excited. Part of him said not to get his hopes up. Hannibal was just being nice earlier because Will had been such a moron outside his shop. A bigger part of him said he _should_ be nervous and excited because it was just possible Hannibal had been thinking about him, too.

  


In truth, Hannibal _had_ been thinking about Will. He hadn’t been able to think about much else. The brown curly hair he wanted to run his fingers through. The Cupid’s bow shape of his lips that he desired to capture with his mouth. The muscular curves of his body that he needed pressed against his own. (That tight, gray, short-sleeved T-shirt he wore didn’t leave much to the imagination.) Those eyes with their many colors: they appeared to be blue, but during their few minutes of conversation he also had seen green and perhaps gray.

Distracted as he had been by the appearance of Will in his life, Hannibal still managed to finish those invoices from earlier. He also kept on top of the late afternoon rush with help from his assistant Abigail Hobbs, who worked for him part-time. She was a freshman in college and had taken on a few more hours a week now that it was summer. The extra cash was going directly into her bank account so she could go abroad next year. She hadn’t decided where just yet, but she was narrowing her options.

The last couple hours of each day before closing saw the number of clients trickle down, but the shop was never truly empty until the final twenty minutes. Until then orders were filled, the baked goods case was updated by removing the labels as items sold out and the kitchen was cleaned regardless if had been used. (Hannibal and Abigail alternated the tasks. They made quite the team.)

Hannibal phoned his baker during this time and confirmed the next day’s order. He met with her first thing in the morning before the shop opened to take receipt of the day’s baked goods. She never disappointed her favorite client, who considered himself more of a cook. Baking was something he did for himself on occasion — even taking advantage of the shop’s kitchen now and then, putting out some of his own creations — but it was more of an indulgence. Cooking, however, made Hannibal’s heart sing. It was his true passion.

At just past six o’clock, the tinkle of the bell rang above the door and there stood Will. They caught each other’s eyes and smiled. Will walked into the shop as Hannibal came around from behind the counter. Abigail observed this as one does two animals approaching each other in the wild. She was captivated by the scene unfolding before her and nearly screamed at the customer who magically appeared before her to go to Starbucks till she remembered her place.

“You came back,” Hannibal said, mildly surprised.

“I told you I would,” Will replied. He leaned in slightly. “And I _always_ keep my promises.”

Hannibal smiled. “I’m going to have to remember that. Where are you heading off to now?”

“Here. Unless you’re kicking me out?” The flirty invitation was unmistakable. Exactly as Will had intended.

“Not at all. I didn’t want to presume.” Hannibal felt as if his heart was going to start making visible indentations in his chest like in a cartoon. He was mildly embarrassed by his reaction to the beautiful younger man gazing at him with such interest.

“Can I sit anywhere?” Will looked around. There were few occupied tables so late in the day.

“Absolutely,” Hannibal confirmed. “Wherever you like.”

Will took a seat at a table by the window. Hannibal reached up and pulled down the shade so the sun’s rays would not blind Will or anyone else in the shop. Will looked up at him, beaming.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Will gestured at the empty seat across from him. “Will you join me or do you need to get back?”

Hannibal knew what he wanted to do, but he turned to glance at Abigail standing behind the counter. She very subtly shook her head, warning him not to walk away from the hot guy who obviously was interested in him. He winked at her, saw her grin in response and sat down opposite Will. “I have some time.”

“Excellent.”

They chatted for a bit while Abigail handled the customers that sporadically wandered in to get their latest caffeine fix. Will told Hannibal about Jack and why he was at the store. It saddened them both momentarily when they realized Will would only be so close for another week and a half.

Hannibal explained he had opened his business after retirement. He had been a highly respected psychiatrist for years, but found himself ground down from it. A change of pace was required; so he closed up one shop and opened another. The first year or so, he had been in a different location, as the current venue hadn’t been available. When it happened to open up nine months ago, Hannibal took it immediately. He had had the place renovated — money wasn’t exactly a problem, so that sped the process along considerably — and was able to open one month prior. This was the day after he shuttered the shop’s previous location.

A last-minute tour group popped in so Hannibal excused himself to go help Abigail. Will watched him keenly as he worked the crowd and helped Abigail fill the orders while she rung up the sales. After about twenty minutes, the group was gone; the final stragglers who had been occupying seats in the shop left of their own volition not long after that.

Hannibal apologized to Will, but he needed to finish closing up. Will understood and told him not to worry about it. Then he asked if there was anything he could do to help. Abigail suggested he could put the chairs on top of the tables after she wiped the tabletops down. Will nodded eagerly at the idea, leaving Hannibal no alternative but to say yes. Half an hour later, everything was done. The place was immaculate.

Hannibal sent Abigail home. On her way out the door, she told Will she hoped she saw him in here more often. Will winked in response.

  


The men left the shop together; a destination not yet decided upon. The sun was riding low in the sky as they walked along the sidewalk. Will switched his messenger bag to his left shoulder so as not to have it slam against Hannibal’s leg with every step.

After a few blocks, they came upon a small, semi-secluded public space with a working fountain, flowers and black wrought-iron benches. One shared glance later and they were entering the park. Not long after they had settled on one of the benches, Hannibal asked a most pertinent question.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Hannibal asked.

Will’s lips quirked; amusement lit his eyes, which now looked blue. “I don’t _see_ people. I indulge in the occasional one-night stand, but no one’s ever captured my attention.” _Until you._

Hannibal didn’t respond. He absorbed Will’s answer before replying, “I can’t remember the last time I had a one-night stand. However, the rest of your assessment I can relate to completely.” _And then you walked into my life._

“Why did you ask?”

“I spotted the book in your bag earlier and was curious.”

A heat bloomed across Will’s cheeks. “I was curious, too. I’ve had sex with guys, but I’ve never _been with a man._ ” He paused, not quite believing he was saying this so soon. “I wanted to have an idea of what it could be like.”

Hannibal’s gaze bore into the very core of Will. It was like looking directly into the sun. Will could catch fire right here, right now; have his ashes scattered by the wind and that would be just fine. Hannibal reached out and ran the back of his hand lovingly down the side of Will’s face. Will shivered in anticipation at his touch; his eyes never moving from Hannibal’s.

“I have _an idea_ what it could be like,” Hannibal said.

With his other hand, he undid the button of Will’s shorts, sliding down the zipper and releasing his hardening cock from his underwear. Will closed his eyes, his breathing already becoming more labored as Hannibal gripped Will’s cock at the base and slowly began moving his hand in a fluid motion. From base to tip and back again, the swell of pleasure that began to ripple through Will was more than he thought he would ever experience — _could_ ever experience.

As precome leaked from the tip, Hannibal bent down and licked it up before returning to the gliding motion along Will’s now-hard cock. Will was moaning softly, somewhat consciously aware that being arrested for getting a hand job in a public space would not be a good thing.

When Hannibal started fingering Will’s balls, Will buried his face in the spot between Hannibal’s neck and shoulder. His scent was like an aphrodisiac to Will. If he moved any closer to Hannibal, he would be in his lap. He began to picture his legs wrapped around Hannibal’s waist.

The hand Hannibal still had attached to Will’s face, slid to the back of his neck in a protective move. Will let out a louder moan that was muffled by Hannibal’s body. Hannibal moved his other hand away from Will’s balls and back to his hard cock, gripping it tighter than before as he finished the job and brought Will to orgasm. Will’s teeth grazed Hannibal’s neck as his body spasmed with delight. His come was all over Hannibal’s hand and on the ground.

Hannibal removed his clean hand from Will’s neck and pulled out a handkerchief. He wiped off his hand and, after making sure none had soiled Will’s shorts, quickly bent back down and sucked off the remaining cum from Will’s softening cock. This action made it twitch briefly, but Hannibal had finished before it could make a serious attempt to come back to life. It also made Will grip Hannibal’s waist, his head still buried in the same spot.

Will felt Hannibal’s hand once more against the back of his neck, then his lips on the side of his head. He didn’t want to move. This spot was now his. He had claimed it against all others. Hannibal’s breath against his ear was like a lullaby ... or perhaps a siren’s song. It calmed Will; enticed him. He had never felt safer than here in this man’s arms. This man whom he had only met a few hours ago. How was this even possible? Then again, who was he to question such a gift?

Eventually, Will separated from Hannibal. He put himself back together, making sure no one was about to walk in on them. When he finished, his eyes flicked back to Hannibal. Will stared into those dark brown pools as Hannibal stared into his, which Hannibal noticed in the fading light now looked green. Will leaned in and fulfilled a wish for Hannibal, his Cupid’s bow capturing Hannibal’s lush lips. Hannibal returned the kiss and the next several that followed. When they parted, the air that rushed into their lungs was most welcome.

“What are the chances of you taking me home?” Will asked once he was able to form words again.

Hannibal smiled. “Like a stray dog I found on the sidewalk?”

“ _Wow_ that’s an apt analogy.”

They both chuckled.

“I’m literally on the other side of town,” Will said. “Otherwise, I would have you over in a heartbeat.”

“I look forward to seeing your place soon. Until then, I will happily have you in my home ... and in my bed.” He kissed Will on the forehead, then down to the tip of his nose and finally on his mouth.

“And to think I was going to give up caffeine this week,” Will murmured as he brushed his lips across both of Hannibal’s chiseled cheekbones.

Hannibal let out a low moan that was close to a growl. “You can give it up now.”

“Not when it’s the only thing that will get me out of any bed I share with you.” Will could just make out Hannibal’s smile in the semi-dark of the park. The glow of the “bee” lights hung along the landscaping gave the space a magical look.

“Maybe I should go back to psychiatry then. So I can afford to keep you in the caffeinated manner to which you have so quickly become accustomed.”

Will laughed. “Whatever you want.”

“I want you to come home with me,” Hannibal said sincerely, lust lurking in his eyes. He watched Will stand up without hesitation and extend a hand to him.

“So take me home.”

Hannibal took his hand and rose to meet him. They left the park and grabbed the first available taxi to Hannibal’s place.

They got precious little sleep that night.

Only the aroma of Hannibal’s special dark roast was able to get Will out of bed the next morning … and every morning after.


End file.
